Creamfields England 2001 Review

After two successful years at an old disused airfield on the banks of the Mersey the Cream faithful returned. Promising a knockout line-up of dance heavyweights a 50,000 strong crowd converged on Speke for 16 hours of pummelling dance beats. The sun shone as "Dangerous" Dave Pearce entertained the crowd with his trademark euphoric trance anthems. Heavy Synths are the order of the day - and the crowd lapped it up.

Meanwhile, in Cream's main arena Tiesto drew a modest crowd for that time of day. Clearly the clubbers did not plan to pace themselves. Banging out the tunes like a prime time set. Thankfully some did opt to soak up the rays whilst watching the celebrity football. After taking in the sights it was clear that Cream can take their festival gimmicks - the football, the crèche for clubbers kids but they should remember the music comes first.

And so, if they ever needed reminding Futureshock and Carl Cox were the men to do it. Being recorded for Radio broadcast later in the day the crowd were eager to make themselves heard. The Bugged Out arena was rammed. Futureshock finished with 'Underworld' which raised the roof. The unmistakable sight of Carl Cox gracing the vestax turntables deafened the entire airfield. Relentless beats followed - it was packed, sweaty and as close to a rave as your likely to get these days!

As darkness fell, the big boys came out to play. Goldie and Judge Jules were doing their thing elsewhere, Mousse T and Yousef provided funky house beats - their really was something for everyone. The Cream Arena was dark and moody matching Pete Tong's disappointing set. The crowd hoped for better when Paul Oakenfold made an appearance. Opening with Depeche Mode. The signs come out - "Oakey your country needs you" read one. This man still commands a following but quite frankly its wearing thin on these old ears.

Just when it felt like Creamfields 2001 was going to be a disappointment Orbital pulled it out the bag. Aggressive electronic beats made it feel like a sweaty rock concert rather than a lush dance event. Over in the Boutique it was just as manic with Fatboy Slim dropping eccentric beats. The festival was in full swing. Back to the Bugged Out arena with The Chemical Brothers providing more mayhem. By 3am only those with extreme stamina remained upright. Timo Maas played a blinding set dropping 'Planet Funk' and promptly bringing a smile to the face.

5am and it was time to go - the last Djs were wrapping it up but still a selective few remained strutting away as if their life depended on it. Quite possibly the best Creamfields yet. We didn't need the Pet Shop Boys and All Saints of previous years just proper dance acts. Its what Cream do best and on August 25th they proved it.